Grimes contractor to fight allegations of theft

A Grimes contractor says he is innocent of allegations that he swindled a councilwoman in his town, and that she is not paying contractors who performed thousands of dollars' worth of work on her home.

Joshua Joseph Auten, 30, was arrested this week on suspicion of theft by Polk County sheriff's officials. He said he was retaining a criminal lawyer to defend himself against wrongful allegations by Grimes City Councilwoman Jill Altringer.

Altringer, a lobbyist for the Iowa Soybean Association, contacted the sheriff's office after she said some construction materials she bought for Auten had never been delivered to her job site.

She accused him of returning some of the construction materials for cash and using some in other construction projects, said Sgt. Jana Abens of the sheriff's office.

Auten said that he had a contract with Altringer that included cost of materials, but that she allowed Auten to purchase some of the materials for the house addition because she wanted an 11 percent rebate from Menards.

He took some of those materials back and received in-store credit. The credit was used to buy materials to complete a new job that Altringer added to the project, and for other projects, he said.

Later, he said, he spent more on materials for Altringer's project, for which she was never billed.

Auten said Altringer failed to pay him about $20,000 on a $50,000 three-story addition to her home.

"We were done with about 80 percent of the project when she claimed we were doing poor-quality work," he said. "So she fired me, and then turned around and hired my subcontractors back the next day to finish it."

Auten said he successfully completed two jobs for Altringer before her addition. Now, he claims, she will not return tools of his that were kept in her garage.

"This just kills me. I've had customers call me who read the news accounts," he said. "But no one tried to contact me for my side."

Altringer said Wednesday that she planned to file a civil action against Auten, and that the allegations he made are false. "Although it is true that Mr. Auten currently has tools in my garage, I have certainly not withheld the tools from Mr. Auten," she said. "Mr. Auten left the tools on my property. Mr. Auten and I have been attempting to coordinate the return of the tools as soon as possible."

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Grimes contractor to fight allegations of theft

A Grimes contractor says he is innocent of allegations that he swindled a councilwoman in his town, and that she is not paying contractors who performed thousands of dollars? worth of work on her